Transport by Boat

Seeing as Indonesia consists of thousands of islands a logical mode of transport is by boat. There are different kinds of boats off course from big ferries to small fishing boats that can take you to a small islands.

Public transport
The biggest boats are the Pelni Ferries. These enormous ferries visit almost every inhabited island in Indonesia but really do take their time to do so. Also lack of reliability and sometimes dubious safety  makes that Happy Trails rather recommends taking a flight to get to a destination. Other ferries between Java and Bali or Bali and Lombok can sometimes also take their time but seeing as this is only a short distance this is still a very good and safe option. Between Bali and Lombok there is also an option to take a so called fast boat. The regular ferry can take up to 5 hours to get from Bali to Lombok and by taking a fast boat you can shave about 4 hours off. The fast boats are much smaller and are therefore more easily influenced by the weather though. The fast boats are privately owned and, especially between Bali and the Gili Islands, run on a daily basis. Then there are the small local fishing boats that can be used to get from one small island to the other for instance getting from Gili Air to Gili Trawangan. These boats are also mostly used for excursions such as snorkeling and diving trips.

Live-a-boards and cruises
Again having so many islands Indonesia also lends itself well for cruises and live-a-boards. Both options can take anywhere from 3 to 14 days or more. Especially in the eastern part of Indonesia boats are a popular mode of transport for tourists. The islands are smaller and so travelling by boat you will see several islands all with a different landscape, culture and interesting sights. The live-a-boards off course focus more on the stunning underwater world. Both the boats used for the cruises and the live-a-boards come in different shapes and sizes and  are suitable for different budgets. For more information on the matter please contact us.